The Rest of This Year
by ScarlettSunshine
Summary: "Potter, you will put me down if you want to be part of the New Year," she huffed. "I'll put you down if you promise to spend the rest of...well the rest of this year with me." It's New Year's Eve and Lily won't be alone. Not if James can help it anyway.
1. The Beginning of The End of the Year

**A/N: I do not own these characters. Though I do wish I had my own James Potter**

**James thoughts.**

_Lily's thoughts._

"…and we've had a wonderful year so far. May the New Year be just as wonderful. Tuck in!"

The headmaster returned to his seat just as the food appeared on the tables. All of the eight students he had addressed happily dug in and quickly filled their plates.

Lily looked around the Great Hall. It seemed so lifeless for Hogwarts. Barren was the castle. Many of the staff members had left the castle for the holidays. And there were barely any students. All that was left were two first year Gryffindors, three Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs and Lily.

Everyone had gone home for the holidays. Lily had opted to stay at school for the sole reason of avoiding her sister. Petunia had made it perfectly clear that Lily being home over the holidays was going to ruin it for her. Lily was pretty sure that if she had gone home for the holidays Petunia would have found a way to leave the house and spend the hols with her boyfriend Vernon or someone. She didn't want to do that to her parents, so despite their slight hurt at her announcement of where she'd be during the holidays, she stuck with her decision to make it easier on everyone and just stay at school. By herself. For two weeks. All. Alone.

Well except for the other seven students that chose to stay at Hogwarts, and less than a handful of the professors. Her best friend Alice had offered to stay back with her, but Lily told her to go. She knew Alice had plans with her family, and to hang out with Frank Longbottom, who had graduated the year above them and whom Alice was dating.

So she had spent the first week of the hols roaming the empty corridors of Hogwarts by herself. Holing herself up in the heads dorms, grateful Potter had gone home for holidays, she spent hours reading books in front of the fireplace. She'd curl up on the couch and let the time pass by easily, wearing comfortable clothes if not pyjamas, a blanket tucked securely around her.

She was comfortable on her own. Perfectly happy. Or so she told herself.

It was New Year's Eve and she was by herself.

_It's better than being with Petunia. _

She helped herself to some mashed potatoes and a piece of roast chicken, then pulled the trashy romance novel she had been reading from her bag and placed it on the empty stretch of table beside her.

The only other people at the table were the two first years, but they were too afraid of the head girl to sit too close, only making quiet requests for salt and butter.

With one hand she turned to her page and held the book open, the other she used to feed herself broccoli.

"Yes!" a loud voice whooped. "We didn't miss dinner!"

"Whoa," another commented, "this place really is…dead."

**Where is she…? Ah. There's my Lilyflower.**

Lily tuned out the voice mindlessly and returned to her reading.

She was nudged. "Hey Lily."

She looked up to see the grinning face of James Potter. She jumped and immediately moved back on the bench and away from him. . She didn't even bother to correct him on his use of her first name.

_We are not __on a first name basis._

"What are you doing here, Potter?" she demanded. "You went _home_ for the holidays."

"We did," Sirius agreed. "But then Prongs here," he jabbed a thumb in his friend's direction, "missed his Lily, so we had to come back _here._"

'_His' Lily? No way in hell._

"Your Lily?" she repeated, raising her eyebrows at him.

James smirked as he shook his head at her and lied. "That's not what I said. However, we did hear that you were alone here for Christmas and it would just be pitiful to be by yourself on _New Year's_."

Lily looked about the hall and then turned her attention back to the two boys beside her. "Do I look like the only one here then?"

"Yes." He winked. "Or maybe that's just me."

_Merlin._

"How did you two get here? You're not to come back for another week." She paused in consideration. "In fact, you're not _allowed_ to be back for another week," she added.

"Dad was working through the hols, and then one of Mum's friend's passed a couple of days ago. She had to go for the funeral and such," Sirius explained. Lily was used to hearing him refer to James' family as his own. They were like brothers as they said. And from what everyone else said Lily had gathered that James' parents had done something like adopted Sirius. "Anyway," he continued, "they owled Dumbledore yesterday and got a portkey sent over. Brought us here."

"Brilliant," Lily remarked sarcastically.

"We thought so," James grinned.

The two of them heaped piles of food onto their plates and stuffed their mouths full. Lily rolled her eyes and went back to her book, sliding further down the table and away from them. She could still hear their discussion about the upcoming quidditch matches in the background of her reading, but she blocked it out the best she could.

A few moments later she felt the presence of a person sidle up next to her and again she looked up to see James' grinning face. Always grinning. Always smirking.

_Always so damn conceited._

"What're you reading?" he questioned.

Despite the harmlessness of the question she snapped at him. "None of your business."

"Harsh, Evans," Sirius said.

_Shut up Black._

**It was just a question.**

In a short burst of frustration he had towards the girl he loved he plucked the book from under her hand and read the title himself.

"A Secret Love," he read aloud. He looked at the roses crawling up the front cover.

Sirius leaned over to get a look. "Oh Merlin." His bark-like laughter rang out through the hall in the silence and the few professors there were glanced over. "Sounds kinky."

Lily shot him a glare as James flipped through the yellowed pages of the book.

_Why did I choose __now__ to accept one of Alice's romance novels? _

He froze and flipped back a few of the pages. His hazel eyes widened behind his spectacles and he ran a hand through his unruly dark hair.

**Whoa. Just what exactly do these girls read? **

He skimmed a few pages and then closed the book. He held it up and waved it a bit. "I wouldn't call this quality but it's most certainly entertaining." He shot Lily an impish look. "They write stuff like this for blokes?"

She snatched it from his hand and slammed her cutlery down on the table. "Git," she spat. She grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder, threw the book into it and then stormed out of the hall.

**Crap, Prongs. You messed up. This was not the plan. Now she's all cross with you again.**

The students watched their head girl march out of the Great Hall, head held high and strides fast and purposeful. She went straight to the head dormitories and dropped her stuff off. She pulled the romance novel from her bag and frowned at it as though it had offended her. She dropped it on the floor and kicked it under her bed.

_Stupid Potter. Why did he have to show up? I would have been perfectly fine to spend the rest of the holidays by myself. But no, he and Black had to show up. The arrogant arses._

Figuring that James would probably show up to their shared dormitories soon, she pulled on a navy blue jumper and grabbed her jacket. She tugged on her black boots and headed back out to the corridor.

She stepped outside into the cold, frigid air and looked up at the flurries falling around her. It hadn't snowed for Christmas but at least it'd be a white New Year's Eve.

Lily pulled her mittens and hat from the sleeve of her coat and put it on. She buttoned it up and tied the belt, then slipped on her mittens and wore her hat.

She smiled at the snowflakes and then began to walk across the white grounds, heading towards the lake. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm and pulled her hat farther down over her ears.

_Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes_

_Silver white winters that melt into springs_

_These are a few of my favourite things…_

Lily hummed along as she walked, looking at the leafless trees in pity. As much as she loved the snow and winter she liked spring better. She liked when life was blooming and everything was waking up. She found it refreshing in a way.

She got around to the lake and watched the snow melt into the water. The lake hadn't frozen over; just thin sheets of ice on the surface and around the edges. If she wasn't so terrified of accidently falling into the freezing water, she would have broken the ice herself, just for the fun of it. Something about the crack the thin ice made when it broke was satisfying to her.

She walked along the side of the lake for a good while before turning and heading towards the quidditch pitch.

She was wandering across the pitch when she heard yelling. Loud and boisterous, it sounded as if it was only a short distance away.

_Where is that…Nobody else is here…_

Confused, Lily looked up. Just in time to see a quaffle coming directly her way. It seemed to be just an inch from her head when she got a hold of it and held it in her mitten-clad hands.

**Ah shite.**

"What do you think you two are doing?" Lily shrilled.

James swooped down to land beside her. "Playing quidditch," he told her innocently. "Or something like it anyway. We've only got the quaffle in the air. Or did. Sorry about that."

Sirius came to hover beside the pair.

"Did you get permission to use the pitch?" she asked.

Sirius chuckled. "Evans, darling, do you really think that's the kind of people we are?"

_The kind who break the rules or the kind who don't care that they break the rules? Frankly, I think you're both._

"What kind would that be?"

"The kind who actually care whether or not they have 'permission'," he laughed.

_Black, you are a lost cause._

Lily turned to James. "Well?"

He shrugged in response. "Nobody told us we couldn't."

_How did you get the head boy badge? _

She threw her hands up. "So of course that means that you can!"

"Well Prongs," Sirius said, "I think it does, don't you?"

**Shut up, Padfoot. I'm supposed to be **_**impressing**_** Lily. Not upsetting her.**

"Look Lily," James said, "no harm, right? It's New Year's Eve, have a little fun." He took in her set expression. "Hey, you want to join us?"

_Do I want to join them? Hell no._

She voiced her thoughts and Sirius shrugged and flew back up to the goal posts. James tilted his head at her and raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You could make it your New Year's resolution," he cajoled, "try something new."

"You think I've never flown before?" she asked.

"Other than your lesson in first year? Yes."

_Why anyone would ever want to go so far up is beyond me._

"I'll have you know that I have flown before, even by your definition, and I hated it. So no, I don't want to join you," she told him haughtily.

**Yes you do.**

"Wait here, I'll get you a broom," James told her.

_What?_

"No!" she protested. "What part of what I just said didn't pass through your thick skull?"

"Oh," he said, "would you rather share a broom with me? I'd be happy to—"

"I don't want to fly, Potter."

_What am I still doing here?_

"Hop on." James swung his leg over his broom and moved closer to Lily. "Come on."

"No," she said. Lily turned to walk away and James caught her hand in his. "Let. Me. Go," she ordered. She pulled her hand away but he still held on to her mitten.

He looked at it with interest. On the mitten it read 'Love Lily' in pink embroidery. He tucked it into his own coat pocket and kicked off to hover a couple feet off the ground.

**Isn't that the truth.**

"Give me my mitten!" she demanded. "Potter! Now!"

"Come get it," he laughed.

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled. "Are we playing or not? Get the quaffle up here!"

**Oh alright.**

"Sorry," James apologized as he bumped the quaffle from Lily's arm and then tossed it up to his best mate.

Lily glared daggers at him. "My mitten," she held out a hand expectantly. He gave her a pointed look. "Please?" she asked begrudgingly.

"Like I said," he smirked, "come get it."

**Come on Lily. You know you want to.**

Her jaw set as she sighed and then went towards him. He pulled the broom up and rose another few feet and turned as she reached for his pocket.

She went to walk around to his other side and he turned the broom again.

_Really?_

She shook her head disapprovingly at his antics and then reached across him to the pocket that contained her mitten.

_Give me that…_

**Here…we…go**.

Just as her fingers brushed the soft material of her mitten, she was lifted off the ground.

James' arm circled around her waist and lifted her up, pulling her to sit on his broom. Lily let out a loud squeak.

_What the hell does he think he's doing?_

He immediately flew up higher, once his one arm was safely around her waist and the other was securely on the broom and her other side. She instinctively grabbed his torso, one hand gripping his collar and the other grabbing the front of his jacket.

**Not a bad idea Prongs. Not bad at all.**

"What the hell Potter?" she yelled. "Put me down!"

"Hmmm, no," he said. "I think I kind of like this."

"Potter!"

"Lily!" he returned.

"Put me down." It was half a demand and half a plea.

James chuckled and Lily felt his chest vibrate beneath her hand. He felt a tiny bit bad that he was frightening her so much. "It's alright," he said, "I promise I won't let you fall."

She let go of him and glared. "Put. Me. Down."

"No, I don't think so."

"Then…then I'll…"

_James Potter, what would you be afraid of?_

She looked him square in the eyes and said, "If you don't take me back so my feet land safely on the ground then I'll get myself there. I will jump off this broom if I have to."

_She_ wasn't even sure if she was serious. Looking at the ground below, about twenty feet below, her stomach twisted.

**She wouldn't. She…no.**

Despite his assurance to _himself_ that she was bluffing his arm tightened around her waist. She would have swatted it away if she hadn't been fearing for her own life and general safety.

"Jamesie!" Sirius barked. "Have we given up on quidditch, then? You're back to stalking and harassing Evans?"

"I don't stalk her!" James yelled.

"Yes you do," Lily muttered.

"I'm just...devoted to her," he said, to Sirius Lily guessed, though it seemed like he was speaking directly to her instead.

**In love with you, really.**

_I believe 'obsessed with' is the right term._

"Alright," Sirius relented, "I'm going to lap around the castle or something. And then I'm going inside to see if there are _any_ hot girls left in the school. See you both later. Maybe."

**Other than Lily? Don't know how much luck you'll have mate. And don't even think about coming near Lily.**

_Damn it. At least with Black here I couldn't say I was __alone__ with Potter._

"Can I have my mitten back?" she asked tightly.

"Go ahead," he told her, moving his arm slightly so she could get to his pocket.

She pulled the mitten from his jacket and slipped it on her hand, getting a little more comfortable on the broom.

"Thank you. Now would you please return me to the ground?"

**I guess. Wait. An opportunity like this doesn't come around every day. I have **_**Lily Evans**_** here, willing to do just about anything to get off this broom.**

He raised the broom higher. "Sure."

"Thank—"

"On one condition," he interrupted. "You spend the rest of New Year's Eve with me."

She paused to think about it.

_There must be another way to get off of this broom. Without hurting myself. I mean…_

"No," she said.

"Alright," he grinned. "Then do you mind if we go a little higher? Maybe race Sirius around the castle? I think it'd be loads of fun, don't you?"

She shot him a look. "No. If you don't get me off of this broom safely within the next two minutes I'll tell Professor Dumbledore."

"Really, Lily?" James asked. "You think I'm afraid of getting in trouble? Of all the things I've done this doesn't even rank in the top fifty. And those are only the legal things."

_Only the legal things?_

"Potter, you will put me down now if you want to be _part_ of the New Year." She brushed the flying wisps of her red hair out of her eyes as she huffed.

**She's adorable when she's angry.**

"I'll put you down if you promise to spend the rest of…well the rest of this year with me." He smiled at her, "Please?"

He turned the broom and began to take them at a slow pace around the pitch.

_Fine._

"Fine," she said.

**Really?**

_How much harm could he do in the few hours?_

**Hm. What else could I get out of this?**

"And you'll kiss me at midnight," he added.

"What? No!" she exclaimed. "You said _one_ condition."

"Well you can either change that to two, wrap it up as one, or spend the rest of the night on this broom with me. Take your pick."

"I think I'd sooner avada myself than kiss _you_, Potter."

"And you should probably call me James as well. I'd like that."

Her face scrunched up in disgust at him. "Not a chance."

"Shall we fly over the lake then?" he suggested.

_I. Hate. You._

"Fine. I'll spend the rest of New Year's Eve with you. And I'll _consider_ that second part," she told him.

He thought about this for a moment. There was a good chance she wouldn't kiss him. A _huge_ chance really. But, then again, he had nearly four hours to convince her otherwise.

"I'll take it," he agreed. "Now hold on tight, we're headed down."

**A/N: Thanks for reading! **

**Just a quick note that the song "My Favourite Things" was briefly mentioned in this chapter. It's from "The Sound of Music" and I do not own it. **

**There will be another chapter or two to come. I hope you enjoyed this.**

**Please review.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	2. Owls, Pens and Passageways

James' grin spread wide as Lily held tightly to the front of his jacket, her head ducked down as he flew them towards the ground. She squirmed a bit as her stomach turned and she tensed. His arm pulled her firmly against his chest and she didn't protest.

"If you want to land safely you have to stop moving," he told her.

_I can't believe I'm this close to Potter. Someone, just kill me now._

**Never thought I'd be **_**this close**_** to Lily Evans. **

He controlled the broom with one hand and flew them to the ground, taking them in large, curving, turns to avoid any stomach dropping feelings, or Lily wobbling herself out of his grip and spiraling to the ground. His hands were sort of freezing from the cold and lack of gloves, forgetting them in his bag, somewhere buried in his dormitory. His hands were dry and calloused from gripping his broomstick and playing quidditch.

James took his sweet time getting them to the ground, quite liking the position they were in. He hovered a few feet above the ground to let Lily get off the broom comfortably. She hopped off quickly and sighed in relief as here boots touch firm ground. James touched down a second later.

"Well, thank you for that," Lily said insincerely. "I'm off to the owlery." She began to walk away.

**What?**

_Well? Are you not coming along?_

She turned back to look at him. "Well if I'm going to keep my promise, you've got to follow along," she snapped impatiently.

"Right," he said. He tossed up his broom and got a good grip on it, following her as she made her way to the owlery.

"So what are we going to owlery for?" he asked.

_There are no stupid questions… only stupid people._

"So I can find an owl to send a letter," she replied in an obvious tone.

"Who do you have to send a letter to?"

"I hardly think that that is any of your concern," Lily told him.

"I'm just curious."

"Well don't be."

They walked in silence for a few moments before James spoke again. "Why didn't you go home for the holidays?"

"Why do you ask so many bloody questions?" she countered.

He shrugged. "Curiosity gets the better of me."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Potter."

_Satisfaction brought it back. But who gives a damn?_

"What cat?" he asked, bewildered.

"The figurative cat," she replied in exasperation.

**Oh.**

He jogged to catch up to her and then slowed his strides to stay in pace beside her. "My Aunt Clarissa had a cat. Well actually she has a few cats. But anyway, last year one of her favourite cats died and she cried for good two days. My mother had to go and spend the weekend at her house to console her." James sighed. "Personally, I think Aunt Clarissa is a kook. She's got money though and she buys me and Sirius the best presents for our birthdays and Christmas.

"This year we got the newest broomstick model. It's too bad I forgot to bring it. It must be five times faster than this one." He paused and thought about where his train of thought had started. "Oh, my Aunt Clarissa," he remembered. "Yeah, she's always throwing parties too, and Mum makes us dress up and go. Those things are boring as hell and the only reason she throws them are because she's still looking for a husband. Doubt she'll ever find one with all her vicious cats. I've got a two inch scar on my calf from the one time I actually tried to interact with one of the bloody animals."

**You're rambling Prongs.**

**Only because she isn't saying anything!**

"Enthralling story, James," Lily said absentmindedly. "Tell it again, why don't you?"

**Ha! She called me James.**

_Oh, would he just shut up already?_

James chose not to point out her use of his first name and continued right on talking. "Well," he chuckled, "curiosity didn't kill my Aunt Clarissa's cat. My Aunt Clarissa killed my Aunt Clarissa's cat. The thing was all old and sick and she accidently smothered it in her bedding."

"You're still talking," Lily commented with a falsely sweet edge.

James continued. "My mother told her that she should just keep the cats out of the bedding, but apparently that just upset Aunt Clarissa even more. So then Sirius, the dolt, suggested that we just send her _and_ her cats to the mental ward. So then Mum got upset because Aunt Clarissa _is _her cousin and all and told him he couldn't have dessert. First time she punished him, really."

_Seventeen year old boys and 'no dessert' is real punishment. Merlin._

"Padfoot was upset because he upset Mum. Mum was upset because Sirius made her upset. Then she got over that and was upset because she made _Sirius_ upset. So she ended up making me share _my _dessert with him." James shook his head. "I think Mum was just sleep deprived from staying with Aunt Clarissa and Sirius was just startled by the fact that the comment actually _bothered_ Mum. Now they just laugh about it at the dinner table like it's a fond memory."

There was a stretch of silence as they walked. Lily stared at her boots and the imprints they made in the few inches of snow.

_It's quiet…_

"Oh, you're done," Lily said in surprise.

He shot her a look. "Yes."

"Finally," she said. He thought she meant it to be offensive, and so that's how he took it. But then he looked at her and caught the slightest bit of the smile gracing her lips. And then it was okay.

**She loves me.**

"You've offended me," James joked. "What do you mean 'finally'?"

"Again with the questions." She rolled her eyes.

"Questions are the heart of conversation," he told her. "Without them, there's no pulse, it's not lively, and everything just stops flowing."

She considered this. It wasn't a terrible analogy actually. He made a fairly good point, though she hated to admit it.

"Not bad Potter," she allowed.

"James," he corrected.

"Pardon?"

"Well, you called me James two minutes ago. You've yet to avada yourself." He smirked and winked at her. "I think we're safe."

She shook her head. "No. _You_ call me Evans and _I_ call _you_ Potter."

"Why?"

_It must be a real struggle for him to form statements in that stubborn mind of his. _

"Because…it's formal," she said.

"What's wrong with _in_formal?"

_Well because then it'd sound like I actually __enjoy__ your company._

She opened her mouth to reply as they went inside but James beat her to it. "I think it's because everyone _else_ calls me James so you feel the need to set yourself apart from the all by calling by my surname. To be honest though, the professors call me Potter and I _really_ don't think of you the same way I think of McGonagall." He shuddered.

She kicked his ankle as hard as she could without feeling bad. Then, deciding it didn't matter how hard she kicked him—he deserved the pain— she kicked him again. She shot him a fierce glare and then headed up the owlery staircase without him. She didn't even turn back as he made the obligatory remark of, "Ow."

**Well that's going to bruise. **

She was already a few turns of the staircase up and James was nearly taking the stairs at a jog to try and catch up. He nearly slipped on the thin, unnoticeable ice that coated the stairs. He regained his balance and then continued up the stairs.

He caught a glimpse of her red hair as she turned with the staircase.

_Stupid Potter... James…No. Potter. _

"Ah!" came the startled shriek of Lily as she lost her footing on the ice. James was right behind her and managed to catch her quickly. Albeit he had a slightly awkward hold on her with his broomstick still in hand, at least she hadn't slid and tumbled down the rest of the stairs.

He set her upright on the stair and remained where he was behind her; hands still up as if he expected she'd fall again in a second.

"Go ahead," she said quietly.

He shook his head though he wasn't looking at her. "It's alright. I'm going to stay behind you. Maybe you'll actually wait for me this time."

She didn't say anything. Waiting for her heart to stop pounding from the scare of nearly falling, she just stood there, patient and still.

_Goodness._

"Are you alright?" James asked.

"Peachy," she replied, continuing up the stairs.

**Okay then.**

He followed behind her closely; her right hand remained on the wall at all times.

They began to hear the soft hoots of the few owls that were awake as they neared the top of the stairs. Once there, the two of them immediately started to dance around the owl droppings. It was a pointless effort however, seeing as the entire floor of the place was practically painted and carpeted in various wastes and a whole lot of straw.

The cold wind whipped through the glassless windows of the owlery and as Lily pulled off her mittens her warmed hands felt the shocking change in temperature.

She pulled out her wand and conjured some parchment and then pulled a pen from her boot.

He watched with interest.

**What exactly is she doing?**

_Pens seem so foreign here at Hogwarts. Quills and parchment and ink wells. Quills and parchment and ink wells. Never pens and pencils and paper. _

She went over to the windowsill and began to write.

_Dear Mum and Dad_…

"Why not write the letter _before_ coming to the owlery?" James questioned.

"Busy," she explained. She stared at the first few words she had written, debating with herself.

_It'd be nice._

_Like she is to you?_

_Just because she doesn't make the effort doesn't mean you shouldn't._

_Well…alright._

_Dear Mum and Dad __and__…Petunia…_

Lily continued to write and James came and peered over her shoulder. "Oh," he said, "you're just writing to you parents. Where was the harm in telling me that?"

"It's rude to read over people's shoulders," Lily told him tensely, still scribbling away. "And it really had no relevance to you so _you_ didn't need to know."

"I'm surprised you'd be so incorrect though."

"Excuse me?"

He pointed over her shoulder. "You list all items, separated by commas, and _then_ you write 'and'," he reminded.

"Shut up," she snapped. "Now make yourself useful and find me an owl, would you?"

**Only because you're Lily.**

He left her by the windowsill and went looking for an owl. He spotted his own owl, Mona, several feet above his head and coaxed her down to land on his arm.

"Hey Mona," he said, speaking to the Great Horned Owl, "you'll do our dearest Lily a favour and carry her letter, won't you?"

The owl hoo-ed in response and James chuckled. "We'll take that as a yes. Now tell me how have you been?"

The owl clawed at him harmlessly.

"Nope," James told her. "No treats today."

_Is he __talking__ to his bird? Seriously?_

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, looking up from her letter. James only gave half a shrug. "They are _very_ intelligent birds."

_Of course they are. I just don't understand why they would discuss things with the likes of you then._

James wandered back over to Lily, Mona on his arm, and again glanced at what she was writing.

Lily leaned over her letter to block his view and signed her name with a flourish. "Done," she sighed. She read it over.

_Dear Mum and Dad and Petunia,_

_I hope you had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and that you enjoyed the presents I sent. Everything's going well here at school. The Christmas feast was more than delicious. _

_I'm writing to wish you all a Happy New Year and may everything go well for you as well. _

_What have you all been up to?_

_I've been spending most of my time reading, studying and doing more reading. A quiet yet comfortable holiday. _

_I hope to see you soon. I miss you very much. _

_All my love and all the best,_

_Lily_

She rolled the parchment tight and tied it. "I can use another owl," she said to James. "It's fine."

"No," he shook his head. "Mona would be happy to do it, I rarely send anything out. She could use the trip."

"Alright," she agreed.

She tied the letter to Mona's leg, gave her brief instructions and then sent her off.

Lily then pulled her mittens from her pockets and tucked her hands away inside them once again. She then headed back down the winding stairs, fixing her hat on her head as she went.

James walked behind her, careful of the snow and ice, watching her red hair sway to the side as the wind came through the windows.

They were only a few steps down when, again, Lily slipped.

_Oh Merlin_.

Somewhere in the split second of falling she decided not to fight it, to just let the ground come to meet her. However, again, a pair of strong arms linked under hers and caught her, pulling her up to stand straight.

"Just a suggestion," James said, "but watch your step."

"Shut. Up," she bit out, shaking off his hold on her and regaining her bearing.

**No 'thank you'?**

"You know, that's the second time I've saved your life today and yet neither time did you say thank you," James pointed out.

"'Saved my life'," Lily repeated. "That's a pretty grand exaggeration."

"Anything can happen," he said. "So shouldn't you be all, 'my hero, what can I ever do to repay you?'?" His voice had jumped a full octave as he imitated what apparently should have been Lily's speech.

"And why the hell would I be like that?" Lily asked.

He shrugged. "Only because I saved your life." He paused. "So…anything to repay me, right?"

**Anything…**

_No. Way. In. Hell._

She gave him her expertly honed death glare. Unlike anyone else she used the glare on, James met her head on. His hazel eyes stared right back into her emerald green orbs. He never glared back at her. But behind his glasses those hazel eyes did hold some sort of a challenged that effectively irked Lily. It was as if they held an ongoing yet silent argument between them. And every time he gave her that certain look, and she upheld that fiery glare like she truly owned it, it was another round of that same fight.

It was a test of their will to see who would cave first.

_Despicable. _

**Love Lily. **

Lily shook her head at him, still glaring, then turned around a hurriedly continued down the stairs. She paid close attention to the ice covering the steps and carefully avoided the glistening patches.

Just as her feet touched the bottom of the stairs James tapped her on the back.

"What?" she demanded.

"How about a token of your gratitude, then?" he suggested.

"A token of my gratitude?" she echoed incredulously. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Gratitude my arse."

**Shite.**

"I didn't mean it like that," James said quickly. "Honestly, I just meant—"

"Whatever," Lily dismissed.

_You know what…_

"If I give you a token of my gratitude will you shut up all the way back to Gryffindor Tower?" she asked.

He eyed her warily. "I really didn't mean anything by it—"

"Will you promise?"

"Sure." He grinned, "Anything for you Lilyflower."

"Shut. Up," she ordered. She reached into her boot, pulling her pen from loop on the inner lining.

James held up his hands in a 'backing off' gesture and then motioned for her to continue.

"My hero," Lily said dramatically. "Thank you for your acts of kindness. May you accept this small token of my gratitude in return?" She offered him the pen.

**Really?**

"Really?" he asked, sounding sort of excited.

"Er, yeah," Lily told him. "You can have it."

"Thanks." He held black pen in his hand, clicking it amazement.

**Padfoot told me about this, he said he got to use one in Muggle studies.**

_He's…kidding…right? He's actually getting excited over a pen?_

"It's not special," she said. "It'd be like giving you a quill. Really."

**Except Lily Evans would never give me anything to just…be nice?**

He tapped the pen against his other hand. "I'd reckon there are only four of these in the entire castle."

_If there are only four then I'm the only one who has any._

"Thank you," James told her sincerely, clicking the pen twice more for good measure before tucking it into his pocket.

"You're…very welcome," Lily nodded. "Now shut up."

* * *

><p>They made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, James convincing Lily that it was necessary they go check on Sirius before going back to the Head dormitories.<p>

They walked along silently, the soft sounds of their footfalls the only sound throughout the corridor despite the fairly early hour.

"You see?" Lily said. "It's nice when you're not shooting your mouth off or rambling to no end."

James shrugged in response.

"I sort of doubt you can stay silent for very long," Lily told him, but even as she said it she was realizing she was wrong. He seemed content the way he was. He was smiling at her as she talked to him, nodding along with her words.

"I don't think I have any stories of crazy aunts to bore you with," she said. "And if I did, I'm not so sure I'd tell you."

_Maybe it's best we both be silent. _

**Why'd she stop talking? It was nice.**

Lily continued walking wordlessly. She ran a hand along the stone wall of the corridor hummed a thoughtless tune to herself. James stared at her curiously, wanting her to continue talking to him.

He kind of enjoyed it really. She rarely talked to him. Yelled at him, sure, but rarely talked unless it was necessary.

He could tell she was uncomfortable with the silence; she was staring at the floor and only glancing at his feet. Deciding to do something about it, he moved to closer to her and bumped into her.

She looked up at him sharply and he smiled apologetically.

_It's odd how much his expressions can say. Although…that isn't a real apology; I'm sure he did that on purpose. _

**Talk to me.**

_So strange. He's not saying a thing. _

They climbed the staircases quietly, any noises seeming too loud in the silence.

**Hey, isn't this… Well you have a fifty-fifty chance of this going well. **

James stopped walking and caught Lily's hand to pull her back as well.

She was disconcerted at first and quickly pulled her hand from his. "What?" she asked.

James pulled back the tapestry they were in front of pointed into the small alcove it hid. It was dark and you couldn't see a thing in it. All you could tell was that there was depth to it.

"I surely hope I don't know what you're suggesting," Lily told him, challenging him to tell her she was wrong. "I am _not_ going in there with you."

**Not suggesting anything like that.**

James looked at her and shook his head, letting her know that she had the wrong idea. For that, Lily was grateful.

"So, why are we standing in front of here?" Lily crossed her arms and awaited an answer.

**It's a passageway. **

He motioned for her to follow him. Her feet stayed rooted to her spot and his shoulders dropped with a short sigh.

He pulled out the pen she had given him and wrote 'passageway' on the palm of his hand. He held it up so she could read and she read it aloud.

_Passageway?_ _And why in the world would I trust you?_

James stepped a little further into the alcove and held out a hand for Lily.

**Trust me.**

Lily's eyes narrowed at him in, seeming to be scrutinizing him. Her mouth twisted to the side a bit as she considered it.

James held back a chuckle at her adorable expression. His hand remained extended towards her, waiting for her verdict.

_What's the worst that can happen? With less than a dozen students in the castle they'd notice if we went missing. And James wouldn't do anything to me. _

"I don't really trust _you_," she said, "and I shouldn't. But strangely enough I trust you with me." She was more or less talking aloud to herself, forgetting that just because James wasn't speaking didn't mean he wasn't bothering to listen. "Well alright," she decided, "let's see where this goes."

She took his hand and let him pull her into the smaller space, and then tug her back farther until it became more of a path.

It was narrow, and so dusty that every few steps she felt the urge to sneeze, but for a girl who had never been in a secret passageway, let alone bothered to look for them, it was exciting. And for a boy who had travelled them too many times to count, and knew them like the back of his hand, pulling the girl through them was momentous.

One hand in James', purely because he was leading the way and she couldn't see a darn thing, and the other hand running along cool stone of the wall, Lily felt the rush of excitement of not knowing. Being Lily Evans, she always knew. Whether it be the answers in class, how to make an _excellent _sleeping draught, or simply how to get her way with people; Lily Evans knew. But in those few minutes of not knowing exactly where she was going, and the abnormality of going wherever it was with James Potter of all people, Lily Evans was experiencing something entirely new to her.

They reached the end of the passageway, a seemingly solid wall.

_Is this it then? A dead end. _

James pulled out his wand and wordlessly tapped the stones.

It was like the wall from The Leaky Cauldron, as James tapped the stones they shifted. The difference was that he tapped the stones down one side and the entire wall slid to the left, the scraping of the stones making Lily cringe as it opened into a corridor.

She had a feeling that the passageway took them approximately the same amount of time it would have taken them to just walk through the corridors. But the fact that they were travelling through the walls was worth an extra minute or two.

Lily let go of James' hand and stepped out from the wall and into the more open area. "Interesting," she commented. "You might just have to show me more of those. They'd certainly make patrols go faster."

**Success.**

James grinned and looked around. They were very near to the portrait of The Fat Lady, the entrance to Gryffindor common room. He waved for Lily to follow him around a corner and just a small stretch of corridor later they stood in front of the portrait.

"Unicorn hair," Lily told the Fat Lady clearly.

"Oh hello you two," she greeted. "How have you been doing?"

"Just fine, thank you," Lily smiled politely.

"How have the holidays been?" the woman asked.

"Lovely. You?"

"Very nice," the lady replied. "It does get lonely though. The castle's so _empty_. I haven't seen you around much either. And _you_," The Fat Lady looked at James, "you couldn't possibly have been here all this time. I would've noticed you and your friends."

**Oh would she just let us in already.**

James shot her a smile and then pointed at her portrait, asking to just be let in.

"Oh, yes, certainly dears." The portrait swung open and Lily and James entered the common room.

"Finally," James said. "Now where the hell is Sirius?"

Their eyes swept over the common room. It was deserted except for the two first years, a boy and a girl, playing chess in the corner. The couches were unoccupied and the fire was crackling quietly.

Lily gestured around them, "Clearly not here," she said.

James chuckled. "Let's go check the dormitory."

"I'll stay here thanks," Lily told him, going over to the couch.

"It's not as scary as you'd imagine up there," he assured. "Really. Come on."

Just the slightest bit curious, Lily agreed and followed him up the boys' staircase and then into the seventh year boys' dormitory.

_Wow._

It wasn't really what she expected.

She had thought there'd be rubbish thrown everyone, dirty clothes hanging on everything it could, drawers left open, bed unmade, the floor unseen beneath their belongings. However, and maybe it was because they had all packed up to go home for the holidays, it was surprisingly tidy.

There was a single poster tacked up on one wall with pictures of broomsticks, the models newer and newer from right to left and down. There was a sweater hanging on a bedpost, a bedside table drawer that had a fairly thick book undecidedly holding it open, the beds were all made identically and perfectly neat, and an empty goblet sat atop somebody's nightstand. The floor was clean.

"No Sirius," James observed.

"He's gotten himself into trouble already, you think?" she asked.

"It's plausible," he replied. "Whatever. I'm not my brother's keeper. We'll find him eventually."

_Alright then._

"Can we go back to our dormitories then?" Lily requested.

"Sure," James decided.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you so much for reading and to all of you who reviewed last chapter.**

**I fear that I may not finish this in time for New Year's Eve, which was my original plan. But wish me all the best and I'll try. **

**I had originally written a Christmas story to post but Christmas rolled around and I was only a chapter or two in so that was a bust.**

**Well. Please review, it would mean a lot.**

**Anyways,**

**Scarlett**


	3. The Mindset of Sirius Black and Presents

As James and Lily approached the portrait of the meadow, the entrance to their own personal common room because they were Heads, a brief thought crossed James' mind.

**No. He wouldn't.**

Lily sighed as they stood in front of the portrait, no people visible in the picture. "She's gone again," she stated flatly.

That was the problem with their portrait. The painting typically showed a meadow with a little girl and a very young boy running about in it. However, the little girl was who they were to address when giving the password and she was always running far back in the picture. Whenever unfamiliar people approached her painting, or sometimes when it just fit her fancy, Bella, the little girl, would just run back and back and back into the meadow until you could hardly see her anymore.

For the first month of school Lily had spent every other night in the Gryffindor dormitories with Alice and the rest of her friends, seeing as she couldn't get into her own living space.

Bella hadn't been running away in a while though, and Lily found it odd that in an empty castle she'd felt the need to leave her regular place in her picture.

The little boy was toddling through the meadow, but he could hardly talk.

"Brilliant," Lily said. "Now we can't get in."

James examined the painting and then pointed to a figure in the background. "That's her, isn't it?'

Lily squinted at the picture and nodded. "I'd assume so."

"No worries then." James stepped up to the large painting and called, "Bella! Bella it's James, could you let us in please?"

The figure in the painting moved closer, slowly, until Lily could actually recognize the little girl.

"Just me, Bella," James told her. "What're you doing back there?" His voice was sweet and teasing, and standing behind him, Lily smiled.

The girl picked up her pace a bit and then a moment later she was at the front of the picture, ushering the younger boy from her way. "Hi, James," Bella said timidly.

James smiled at her, "Hi, Bella. How are you?"

"I'm good," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

_She's so cute._

Bella never asked for the password, merely waited until someone offered it to her and then she'd open the entrance without question.

"Happy Christmas and Happy New Year," James wished her. "Now that password…" He paused thoughtfully.

Bella giggled at him.

"Ah!" James said. "Butterscotch biscuits?"

The portrait swung open and as James stepped inside he heard a quiet, "Bye James," from behind him. He chuckled and called back, "Bye Bella!" letting Lily pass by him.

Lily laughed as the portrait shut behind them and then looked at James. "Someone's got a crush on you," she teased.

"You love me back?" James guessed jokingly.

"Yeah right." Lily rolled her eyes and went around the couch to sit in front of the fire.

"Holy crap!" she screamed. Her hand flew to her chest, covering her pounding heart. "Black, what the hell are you doing here?"

Sirius lazed across the couch, basking in the heat of the fire, sitting up just enough to eat from the plate he had on his lap. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm eating cake Evans."

"How did you get in here?" Not waiting for an answer from him Lily spun around on James. "How did he get in here James?" she demanded.

Sirius smirked, "Prongsie gave me the password, didn't you Prongsie?"

"I did," James admitted. "But not so you could come and go as you please!"

"You said, and I quote, 'Padfoot, Sirius, my dear brother, the password is 'butterscotch biscuits' come and go as you please,'" Sirius said, imitating what Lily assumed was supposed to be James' voice.

"I don't sound like that," James protested; his voice purposefully lower and deeper than usual. "And if you want to get technical, what I said was 'Padfoot, the password is 'butterscotch biscuits'. Don't use it unless you have to and don't let Lily know I told you.'." James shot Sirius a look. "Obviously you disregarded both of those."

Sirius shrugged and forked more chocolate cake in his mouth.

"Kick him out?" James asked.

"Just like that mate?" Sirius sounded offended. "Girl waltzes in and you'll just kick me out? Harsh, mate."

James laughed and relaxed onto the carpet, reaching up and breaking off a piece of Sirius' cake. He popped the cake in his mouth and shrugged, "Sorry mate, she's more attractive."

Sirius sat up and scarfed down the rest of his cake in a few bites. "You think she's more attractive than me? How could you! You said I was beautiful! You said you've never felt this way about anyone!" Sirius began to cry very unconvincing tears.

James hit him upside the head, making the plate fall off his lap and onto the carpet.

Lily frowned at the cake crumbs littering the plush, gold carpet.

_Damn it. _

She pulled out her wand and vanished the mess.

_There._

Sirius sat up and dropped his fork onto the plate with a loud _clank_. He eyed Lily and James suspiciously. "Where have you two been anyway?"

"Went to the owlery," Lily said.

"Right. By the way," James started, "Lily's spending New Year's Eve with us."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed.

"She's spending New Year's Eve with us," James repeated slowly.

"Problem, Black?" Lily asked. "Because I assure you I'd be happy to back out on this little deal we have."

Sirius looked between the two of them. "I don't even want to know," he said. "But…Prongs what about the stuff we brought?"

"What stuff?" James asked.

"Ourbonbay and iskeywhay," Sirius hinted.

**Bourbon and whiskey. …Crap.**

"You guys brought _bourbon_ and _whiskey_ to school?" Lily demanded. "You guys could get suspended! Or expelled! What's wrong with you idiots?"

**Of course she knows Pig Latin.**

_You idiots!_

Sirius glared at James. "Now what?" he gritted out.

"Fine. We won't drink the liquor," James said.

Lily looked satisfied. Sirius looked furious.

"Fine. We can have the liquor," James corrected.

Lily looked furious. Sirius looked satisfied.

"Alright," James sighed. "We can have the liquor," he gauged Lily's reaction, "but nobody gets pissed."

Lily looked upset. Sirius looked upset.

**Good enough.**

_They're not changing their minds. And...it's New Year's. Hardly anyone's in the castle. If they're going to drink the liquor anyway the safest time is now…_

"What time is it?" Lily asked.

James checked his watch. "Just past nine. We've got three hours to kill."

"Wonderful," Lily said sarcastically.

"So was your quest for a hot girl successful?" James asked Sirius.

Sirius groaned. "No. Hot. Girls. Left. Just a bunch of blokes and second year Hufflepuffs."

"Really?" Lily questioned. "I thought there was a sixth year girl in Ravenclaw. She's pretty." She thought for a moment. "Oh but she has a boyfriend I think."

Sirius stood up. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

**You have to ask?**

"Ravenclaw tower," Sirius replied simply. "And if she's not there, the library."

"Oh Merlin," Lily muttered. "And if she has a boyfriend?"

"I'll talk her through her issues with him. And then we'll probably have a good snog."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"They always have issues," Sirius assured.

Lily shook her head. "And when her boyfriend comes back and is bigger than you?"

He smirked, "I've got my wits."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"They never have wits," Sirius assured.

_Really._

"She's a Ravenclaw, I think her boyfriend has wits," Lily told him.

Sirius sat back down, defeated. "True."

He fixed his hair and thought about it.

He jumped back up. "I'll take my chances."

_That…will not end well._

**Well. At least we know next week will be interesting.**

Sirius marched out of the common room and out of the portrait hole, looking determined.

Lily shook her head at him, thinking he really was insane. James sighed.

Lily pointed at the entrance, "I'm changing that password," she said.

"Well, I can't blame you for that."

"I can't believe he'd help a girl to cheat on her boyfriend." She looked appalled.

**Oh Merlin. What am I supposed to say to that…?**

"Yeah," James grimaced. "He's got this idea stuck in his head that if the girl would cheat with him anyway, then it's her boyfriend's own fault. And if it's the girl that's the problem…well then he's opening the poor bloke's eyes to see who she really is."

_That almost makes sense._

Lily sat down in the arm chair and tucked her legs under her. "You believe that too?" she sunk back into the large cushion. Her favourite chair, it just seemed to mould to her comfort.

"No," he said. "But Sirius is a very…different character. He's still a bit of an arse."

_Clearly._

"I mean," James paused, "He's my brother. What he's doing is his business. I can't ever see him settling down with a girl in the near—or possibly far—future but I think if we give him another year he won't exactly be like _this_ anymore."

Lily laughed. Not meanly or sarcastically, genuinely. "Well people everywhere will be thankful for that."

James lay back on the gold carpet, stretching himself out before folding his hands behind his head, exposing a small section of his abdomen as his grey jumper rose up.

_Oh Merlin. _

Lily caught sight of the taut, muscled area of him that had been uncovered. And worse, with where his jeans sat on him, the stretch of exposed skin showed an obvious hint to the v-shaped area in the male anatomy by his hips. She stared at that one area that she had somehow found herself appreciating most.

She inadvertently sucked in a bit of air and looked away, blushing scarlet even though James hadn't seen her.

_Merlin Lily, control yourself. It's James Potter for heaven's sake! _

James looked thoughtful for a moment before turning his head to look up at her. "You…you didn't think I believed that, did you?"

Lily quickly calmed herself down enough to look him in the eyes. She then realized that her answer really did matter to him. She considered the question. "Oddly enough," she said carefully, "I doubted it."

A quiet sort of smile spread across his features at her answer and Lily was satisfied.

"Good," James said.

It was silent between them for a minute before James suddenly jumped up from his place on the carpet. "Oh," he said quickly, "I almost forgot. I brought your Christmas present with me."

"What?" she asked.

"Your Christmas present," he repeated. "I'll go get it."

"I didn't get you anything," she said.

"That's alright," he shrugged. "Or, actually," he pulled out his pen, "you did."

_A __pen__? Well now I feel awful._

"Be right back," he called as he jogged up the short flight of stairs leading to his room.

He rummaged through his trunk, tossing trousers and shirts aside as he dug through it. He pulled out a shoe and chucked it across the room in frustration, revealing a bit of the shiny gold wrapping paper.

He pulled it from the pile of clothes he had created within his trunk triumphantly.

He stared at the mess he had made. Shrugging, he flipped the top of the trunk down on the pile of clothes as if that solved the problem and hid the large mess.

James ran out of his room and back down the stairs.

"Here," he said as he thrust the package towards Lily.

She looked at the wrapping and then looked at James. The wrapping was torn at one corner of the rectangle, it was ridiculously bulky on one side, and the triangles that had been folded over the ends were in odd directions and crooked. The string that had been tied around it wasn't centered at all where it was crossed and as Lily tried to find a way to pull it off she couldn't stop laughing.

"Did you wrap this yourself?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Quit laughing. I tried my best."

_Well it's almost a very cute attempt._

She finally pulled the string undone. "You're best is better in classes and quidditch then," she told him. That certainly was true. James was a phenomenal quidditch player and he had been made captain that year. And well, his Head badge did come from top grades, either that or Dumbledore really was off hiss rocker.

**I really hope she likes it.**

**Oh Merlin, what if she hates it?**

Lily tried to pull back the wrapping paper but found it was reluctant to move. It was as if it had been glued to the present.

_What did he do to this thing?_

"James," Lily said after a moment of tugging at it, "a little help maybe?"

"Oh." He sat down on the arm of the chair and pulled at the paper as well. "Huh," he hummed, "that worked pretty well then."

"Pardon?"

"It's charmed," he told her. "I couldn't get it to stay in place and Padfoot couldn't stop laughing long enough to help me." He looked annoyed for a second. "You might have better luck—"

Lily already had her wand out and pointed at the package. The paper fell away from the present and Lily placed it on the arm of the chair James wasn't occupying.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped, her mouth dropping open.

James watched her reaction carefully.

**I can't tell if she…**

"You don't already have it, do you?" he asked.

Lily stared at the book in her lap. "No," she said. "I was going to get it but it was really expensive and…"she trailed off. She looked up at him and bit her bottom lip. "James I can't accept this."

"You don't like it?" He frowned slightly, disappointed with himself.

"No I really…It doesn't matter. It's too much. Thank you though," she told him decidedly.

"Damn it," he cursed. "I thought you'd like it."

"I do," she insisted.

"Good," he smiled. "So then what's the problem?"

"It's too expensive," she explained. "It wouldn't be right for me to accept this from you."

**Why the hell not?**

"Why not?"

_Is he not listening?_

"It's too much." She handed the book over to him and he glared at it.

"I don't want it," he said angrily. "It was for you."

She was confused at his anger. Here she was trying to do the good thing, and he was _angry _with her? What right did he have to be angry?

_Why the hell is angry?_

"James," she tried to keep her voice level as she stared at him, "would you please just take it back? It's not fair of me to take it from you."

He shot her a look. "It's not fair to give it back! Hasn't your mother ever told you it's rude to give gifts back?" He dropped the book back into her lap.

She picked the book up and placed it back on his lap.

"Is it just me," Lily asked, "or are you overreacting just a tad?"

"Overreacting?" he echoed incredulously. "You're the one overreacting! Just take the damn book."

"I can't," she said sadly. Unconsciously, she pouted a bit, staring at the book in his lap. It was something she had wanted a great deal. But she didn't need it. As her father had always been the one to point out, there are things you _need_ and things you _want._ This was simply just one of the latter and she would get on fine without it.

**I get ****one**** thing right. For once. For once I get something right with her and she's refusing to let me have it! Instead she's gone all Perfect Lily Evans. I went to five bookstores to find the stupid book thing and she won't even—**

"You went to five bookstores to find it?" Lily asked quietly.

James realized he had been ranting aloud and nodded coolly. "Yes," he responded. "I saw you looking at it in Hogsmeade a while back but when I went there it was already—"

"Gone," Lily finished with him. "I know, I went looking, too."

"Well then you'll also know that it's a limited edition and there are only twelve copies. Nine of which have already been bought," he informed her.

"That," she mumbled, "I didn't know."

James ran a hand through his dark hair, making it stick up more than it already was. "Do you really not want this book?" he asked, holding it up.

"No," she told him begrudgingly. "But I—"

**Alright then.**

James hopped off the arm of the chair, book in hand, and walked over to the bottom of his staircase. He pulled out his pen and clicked it, flipping open to the inside cover.

Lily jumped up from the chair. "No, James don't," she protested.

He turned his back to her and began to write.

**Dear Lily,**

**I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed watching your expression as you first saw it that day in Hogsmeade.**

Lily ran over and grabbed James arm and tried to pull it back away from the book.

James laughed off her attempts and ducked out of her hold on him.

Walking quickly around the couch and out of her reach, he continued to write.

**Happy Christmas.**

**Love, James P.**

"James! Stop!" Lily yelled. She stood on the couch, trying to reach him and the book but he quickly stepped back. Lily stepped onto the back of the couch, teetering dangerously.

James shut the book in satisfaction and clicked his pen closed, tucking it away in his pocket.

_Crap_.

Lily began to fall forwards and she let out a short 'eep'.

"Holy shit." James moved forwards and caught her, dropping the book, the both of them then falling backwards to the floor.

James felt his head hit the ground with a thud. Lily was pressed against him and landed on top of him.

"Sorry," Lily apologized, rolling off of James embarrassedly.

James groaned. "Ow."

"Is your head okay?"

"Fine," he assured. She sat up while he still lay on the ground for a minute. "Here's your book." He handed it to her. "Pardon the messy writing; you weren't giving me the most time."

_I concussed him, didn't I?_

She held out her hand to pull him up. Had it been Sirius, Remus or Peter, his best mates as they were, he would have refused. However any contact with Lily was, well, contact with Lily, so he accepted the hand and let her pull him into a sitting position to face her.

"Are you alright?" she asked concernedly. "I'm really sorry."

"I'm fine," he told her. "Are you okay?"

She ignored his question. She was fine though. Other than the embarrassment the uncomfortable position she had landed in had caused her, she was fine.

"Really?" She bit her lip in worry and he wanted to kiss her. "Um…how many fingers am I holding up?" She put a hand in front of him.

**She's so cute.**

"Seventeen," he answered.

"Four," she corrected as he lowered her hand, holding it in his. "But at least we know you're your regular self. So that's good. Do you need ice?"

"No."

"I'll go get it. You stay here."

She let go of his hand and James sighed.

Lily went to her dormitory and froze some water from her pitcher to ice. She put it in a washcloth and then took it back to the common room for James.

"Here," she said. She placed the ice in his hand and then when he didn't move— instead rolling his eyes at what to him seemed like her 'antics'— she moved his hand herself to the back of his head. "Hold that there."

_Um…_

"Well don't just sit there," she scolded. She helped him to his feet and then around the couch, forcing him to sit down.

"What'd you do with the book?" he asked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "The book! Right!"

She disappeared back around the couch and returned with the book in hand. She sat down beside him and ran her hand over the brown leather cover and gold lettering. "The History Behind It All," she read aloud. "Hundreds of spells, potions, plants and charms." It was a very thick book. She opened it and read the inscription James had written.

_Oh my goodness._

She turned to see him with the ice resting on his knee instead. She moved it back to his head.

"It's lovely," she told him. "Thank you. I love it." She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug and James quickly dropped the ice on the couch to hug her back.

**Merlin, I love her. She smells like vanilla.**

_James Potter, what in the world have you done to me?_

**I guess she likes the present then.**

She let go of him, blushing slightly and then distracted both of them by picking up the ice and scolding, "James. Ice."

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading. Another/more chapters to come. I don't know if it will be finished in time...

Please review! It would mean a lot.

Thank you to KittyRin for the encouragement and for adding me to a community! I love when that happens.

Anyways,

Scarlett


	4. Chocolate Cake and Epiphanies

It was two hours to midnight and Lily and James were still sitting in their common room. They weren't bored per se; they had each other's company and were entertaining themselves through conversation just fine. They hadn't seen Sirius in the last hour. He had left for Ravenclaw tower and had yet to return.

While the pair weren't bored of each other, and hadn't had an argument in a good while, they were tired of sitting there.

When the clock ticked its way to five past ten they simultaneously realized that they had been sitting there just talking for an approximate hour.

"You know how sitting is supposed to be what you do when you're tired," Lily started.

"I believe the action you're thinking of is lying down," James told her.

"You know what I mean," Lily said.

James shifted on the couch and sighed. "I do," he agreed.

"Well I am _tired_ of _sitting_," Lily announced. "Can we go somewhere or do something with our time?"

"You're right," he agreed tiredly. "The year is going to end in less than two hours and we can't very well say that we spent the last hours of it just sitting there."

Lily sat up quickly from her place against the arm of the couch and snapped her fingers. "Exactly! We need a plan!"

"A plan?"

"Yes." She hummed to herself thoughtfully.

_What could we do in an empty castle? _

Lily felt her stomach grumble a bit and she frowned at it. "I'm hungry," she said, realizing she had left the Great Hall during dinner so fast that she hadn't eaten any more than a bit of mashed potatoes and a small bite of chicken.

**To the kitchens then. **

James stood up and stretched. "Alright, let's go to the kitchens."

"You know where the kitchens are?" she asked.

_Of course he knows where the kitchens are. Why wouldn't he?_

"Of course," he told her. "So…you're hungry or…?"

"Right." Lily jumped up from the couch. "Let's go. Lead the way."

* * *

><p>They stood in front of the painting of the bowl of fruit, large and somewhat wide before them. James reached out to tickle the pair and then stopped.<p>

**She should do this one.**

James gestured at the painting. "You ready?" he asked.

"I'm…hungry," Lily responded. "Now why are we in front of a painting of fruit?"

James shook his head. "Not just a painting of fruit," he told her. "It's the entrance to the kitchens."

"Sure," Lily nodded. "Except…Well, how do we get in?"

"I'm getting to that," James said. "Now if you'd just tickle the pear right about," he pointed, "there, please."

_I don't understand these boys at all._

"Okay," Lily conceded. She tickled the pear as he instructed and it giggled, the portrait then swinging open. "Wow."

James nodded at her amazement and let her go first through the portrait. A few of the elves immediately greeted them and offered their assistance.

James politely refused their help for the moment and then sat down with Lily at what was connected to the Gryffindor table. James turned to face her, his arm on the table his hand in his hair.

"What're you hungry for?" he asked. "They can whip up practically anything edible."

_Hmm…What do I want…?_

"Share a chocolate cake with me?" she suggested.

"I'm up for that," he nodded. "I'll go talk to the elves."

Lily waited as James disappeared back to the real kitchen part of the kitchens, weaving around the few small elves that were still bustling around the kitchen. He hit a few of the pots and pans that were hung on the walls on his way over there and Lily watched him intently, giggling.

He heard her and turned, mockingly glaring at her and then breaking out in a grin. He continued, backing up into the kitchen area. Not watching where he was going, he then also ran into a house elf.

**Crap.**

_Well now I don't feel nearly as stupid falling down three times in the last three hours._

James spun around and apologized to the elf. "Sorry, Rosie. You alright?"

"Fine, Mister Potter," Rosie assured. "Can Rosie help Mister Potter with anything?"

"Actually, yes," James told her. "Do you think you could make a small chocolate cake possibly?"

Lily watched James as he talked to the small elf. He was motioning with his hands, something she noted that he did quite often, and then running his hands through his hair.

Lily had this odd, flippy feeling inside her.

_What's wrong with you, Lily?_

Her emerald green eyes trailed his movements and as she realized he was heading back towards her, she quickly averted her gaze to the tabletop. She tugged at a loose thread on her sweater, watching the material bunch up as she pulled it out, blushing like mad.

_You're not blushing because…no. I'm a redhead! Redheads blush nearly ninety percent of the time!_

**She's blushing.**

James smiled as he sat down next to her. He leaned on the table, his fingers drumming a mindless rhythm on the flat surface of wood. "Chocolate cake is a go," he nodded.

"Great," Lily told him, desperately hoping her cheeks had returned to their normal colour. "Did it take much convincing?"

"Nope," James said. "My charming good looks were convincing enough."

Typically Lily would scoff at his conceitedness but strangely enough she found her cheeks heating up once again. She rolled her eyes at him anyway. "I'm sure."

"Although," James said, "there was some other convincing I had to attend to."

"And what would that be?"

He swung his leg over the bench, straddling it, and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees looking very serious. A lopsided grin tugged up the right side of his mouth. "Earlier I had this girl half-promise me a New Year's Eve kiss," he explained. "I've decided I'll have to use my excellent persuasion skills to tilt that half-promise in my favour to be more than that." She stared at him through narrowed eyes. "More than a _half_-promise that is," he added.

"I think you may have a little more confidence in your persuasion skills than 'this girl' does," Lily replied.

"That sounds like a challenge," he said. "Well we'll just see about that."

**How to convince Lily Evans…**

_Oh, I'm sure this will be interesting._

"Well?" Lily prodded.

"What?" James asked.

"Do you plan on trying to convince me _after_ New Year's?" she asked.

"I'm thinking!" he exclaimed. "Give me a minute, please."

The same little elf James had nearly mauled, Rosie, delivered their chocolate cake. It certainly looked delicious. It was about the size of both of Lily's fists put together and an inch and a half taller. It was still warm as well, just baked, and smelled heavenly.

Without a word, James, still contemplating, and Lily picked up their forks and dug in. And they soon found out that it tasted even _better_ than it looked.

Lily hummed in contentment, and closed her eyes. "This is amazing." She licked her lips before getting another bite.

James sat up, swallowed the cake in his mouth and cleared his throat. "All right," he began, "what's the question here?"

Lily gave him a confused look.

"What are we discussing…?" he prompted.

"Um… how blissful this cake is?" she suggested. He shot her a look. "Whether or not I should kiss you at midnight?"

"To which I say yes," James said. He looked dazed for a second as his eyes flicked to her lips. "Yes, you should. For multiple reasons why." He helped himself to more cake.

"Which would be…?"

"This cake _is_…divine," James told her. "And I thought _my_ house elves could bake."

"James," Lily snapped.

"Right," he nodded. He returned to being serious. "Well first of all you can obviously tolerate me quite well. In fact, I'd say you actually like me at this point."

"Like you?" Lily repeated.

"Yes," James confirmed. At her slightly disbelieving look he raised an eyebrow. "Come on Lily, we're on a first name basis, mutually, _and_ we've had more than a couple real conversations. Sans the arguments. I'd say that's pretty good."

_Fair enough._

"Continue," Lily said.

"What will it take to convince you?" he asked.

"You can start by giving me five good reasons," she told him.

"Okay, well that was one." James tilted his head at the tilting structure of their cake. They had sort of carved into the side of the cake on a slant with their forks and it was now leaning down towards the plate. He knocked it over with his fork and continued eating.

"You ruined it!" Lily exclaimed.

He looked at her in surprise, fork poised at his open mouth. He lowered it. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "It was so perfect before."

"It's just going to end up a digested mess in your stomach anyway," he told her. "And it tastes just the same." He laughed at her expression.

"Well now it doesn't _look_ the same," she insisted, though she was laughing with him. "You've made it a mess."

He raised his forkful back up. "Still delicious as ever."

Lily got some cake on her fork as well and sighed. "Well then." She raised her fork as well. "Here is to the New Year. May it be good—no. May it be _better_ than this past year."

They clinked forks, saying, "Cheers," in unison.

**To new relationships. **

_To finding perspective. _

A minute later they were down to the last few bites of their cake.

"I've changed," James said suddenly. "Another reason. I'm not the same person you thought I was."

"Well." Lily stared into James' hazel eyes. She had never realized before just how many colours could be found in that hazel.

The edge, that very outside colour of his iris was brown, and then there were flecks of gold and green towards the middle. The very center around his pupil was like honey, a warm colour that seemed to have a thousand other shades in it.

Lily reached over thoughtlessly and gently removed his glasses. Without his glasses his eyes were even brighter.

He gave her a curious look. "I'm blind without my glasses," he admitted.

She held them up to her own eyes and looked through them. "I see," she said. "Or rather, I don't. Your eyesight is terrible."

"Yes, yes it is," he said, taking his glasses and putting them back on.

**She's ruining my point.**

"Back to what I was saying," James started slowly, "I've changed—"

"You have," Lily agreed.

**Why is she making this so difficult!**

"Would you just stop and listen to me?" James asked. "I'm trying to tell you that I'm not the same bloke you hated."

_Hated? Did I really __hate__ him?_

"You believe I hated you?" Lily said. "No. No, don't answer that."

_He always insisted I loved him._

**Not…not really. She's too good for hate like that.**

"Tell me," James said, "in three words, how would you have described me yesterday?"

_Yesterday…today…three words…things have changed then, haven't they?_

"Conceited, insufferable, and idiotic," Lily said, biting her bottom lip and watching his reaction.

He chuckled, his head falling forward as he shook it. His hair was sticking up in every messy way it could. "Alright. Maybe I deserved a couple of those," he nodded. He looked back up at her, "And today?"

Lily seemed to consider this for a few moments. "Confident…more than tolerable…" she grinned, "and just shy of insane."

**Brilliant.**

James motioned for Lily to take the last bit of cake. She stared at it thoughtfully and then split it in half with her fork, eating half of it herself and leaving the other half for him.

He ate his half with a smile.

They said goodbye to the house elves and wished them all a happy New Year before leaving the kitchens and wandering in the general direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"Reason number three?" Lily inquired as they strolled along.

James looked at her with a grin. "Oh, you'll love this one," he promised. "Reason Number Three:" he proclaimed, "because _I_ am a good kisser."

She laughed. Not the kind of laughter like a girl who was too conscious or insecure, but full out laughter. Her head fell back, her red hair cascading down in long, loose curls that James swore he could run his fingers through forever if he was ever given the chance. Her laughter rang out in the corridor and she looked a little surprised at how loud it seemed.

And then she laughed again. "Do you have some sort of scale to measure that, then?" she teased.

"Just girls to testify."

_How many girls has he kissed?_

**Stupid thing to say.**

James looked over at Lily; she had suddenly become rather silent. He cursed himself for his careless words.

"Erm…"

**Merlin, please help me.**

"Well anyway," he said, "maybe at midnight you can give me your verdict."

"You should stop talking," she said flatly, "about that."

"I've got another reason," he offered.

"Go ahead." But her tone suggested otherwise. It wasn't permission so much as it was a dare.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "If you kissed me, it would mean something."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "What makes you think I want it to mean something?" she questioned.

"Because you're Lily Evans," he said. Though she found it odd the way he said her surname along with her first name, she waited curiously for his explanation. "Lily Evans," he began, "wouldn't kiss someone—or let someone kiss her—unless it meant something."

"Why're you talking in third person?"

Her question went unacknowledged. "Lily Evans is different than the other girls," he said.

"I wish you would stop that."

"If you kissed _me_," he continued, "it would most certainly mean something."

**Merlin. It would mean **_**worlds**_** of somethings.**

"Why do you do that?" Lily demanded.

He was almost startled by her, nearly forgetting she was still there. "Do what?" he asked her.

She shook her head at him. "Tell me, James, why would it mean something?"

"It would mean something to me," he told her. "Lily, I lo-like you very much."

**Don't scare her, Prongs. Don't be an idiot.**

"You're amazing, Lily."

_Again._

"That," she said. "That. James, why do you do _that_?"

"I don't under—"

"Of course you don't," she interrupted. He stared at her. "You've got this…idea of me. I'm not like that. And maybe I'm not like all the other girls you've dated because they're vapid and they fawn all over you. But I am not the only girl out there—"

"Lily, you—"

Lily plunged on, ignoring whatever he had to say, "James, you don't know me that well. You just think you do, because you never got to know any of the other girls. Why? Because they just fell at your feet. I'm the…_challenge_."

"Challenge?" James repeated incredulously. "Lily, you're—you can't possibly—"

**That isn't it at all.**

_Lily, shut up. You've said enough._

She walked quickly ahead of him, as fast as her legs could carry her before breaking into a run. James just stood there in shock.

**A challenge? She's got to be crazy if she thinks that's all it is. A challenge. Merlin, is she blind?**

"Lily!" he yelled. "Lily! Wait!"

_Keep walking. Keep walking. _

She continued forward, just barely hesitating.

"Lily!" he yelled again, now sounding sort of angry. He ran after her, catching her by her elbow and spinning her around.

She watched his chest as it rose and fell with heavy breaths.

"I don't know you?" he repeated. "I don't…_know you_?" He shook his head in disbelief.

She glared at him and his hold on her arm. His loose grip became feather-light, worried he may have hurt her a tad.

"How can you…I don't know you?" He continued to repeat this under his breath as if it just wouldn't sink in for him. It was too outrageous.

"You think you do?" she asked. At his obvious look she sighed. "Fine. What's my favourite colour?"

"Purple."

"Subject?"

"You tell people Charms," he said calmly, "but your favourite subject is really Transfiguration. You just don't tell people because it's not your best class."

_Okay. Yes. But I've never even told… _

"My favourite book?" she quizzed.

"That ridiculously tattered and worn out copy of…Fairy Tales and Legends," he recited, "by Hans Christopher Anderson."

_Damn him._

"Hans _Christian_ Anderson," Lily corrected.

He sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Hans _Christian _Anderson," he agreed.

**Close enough.**

_He probably doesn't even know about fairy tales let alone the __real__ fairy tales. Hans Christian Anderson didn't have a mind for 'happy' endings really… He was realistic._

Lily realized James was awaiting another question. She thought carefully. "Name my family," she decided.

"You were born to Eileen and Paul Evans; you have an older sister named Petunia who has a boyfriend whom you call Vermin." James gave her a challengingly smug look. "Now, come on Lily, give me something difficult."

"I'm done with this," Lily said. She started to walk away angrily, trying to get as far away from him as she could.

_**Done? Done with what?**_

_I can't even…he's just so…Merlin, he's just…_

She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks from emotions she couldn't pinpoint. She felt herself shaking a bit; her jaw was set tightly.

James strode quickly to reach her, his longer strides catching up to her faster ones in seconds.

"You're kidding!" he exclaimed. "Lily, I'm just trying to prove a point!"

_What point?_

Tears welled up in Lily's eyes and she bit her tongue to hold back…everything. Every bit of distress inside of her and every bit of anger.

**What have I done?**

"Lily," he said, trying to get a glance in his direction. Nothing. She stared straight ahead of her and continued to hurry forward. "Lily. I'm just trying to prove a point." No response. No reaction.

**Try harder Prongs.**

_Go away._

"I'm just trying to prove you wrong," James told her.

Her head snapped in his direction and then quickly turned back. She tilted her chin up haughtily and tried to block out his presence.

**If she doesn't want to talk to me then fine. She'll just have to listen.**

He just started to talk, making it damn hard for Lily to ignore him.

"I don't like you because you're the…the only one who doesn't like _me_," he said. "Lily, you're more than that. You're _so much more_." He took a deep breath. "You're more than…hard to get and stubborn. More than gorgeous."

She crossed her arms and shot him a quick look.

"You're lovely," he said. "And I do know you. I know you like rainy days and Spring time. I know you hate the sweltering hot days in summer because you burn easily. I know you like orchids and are merely impartial to lilies. I know you love your sister even though she's cruel towards you. I think it's amazing that you can find that sort of kindness in your heart to forgive her like that."

_How does he know about that?_

"I know you find the good in everybody," he said. "I don't know how you do it, but you do. I know you're responsible and caring, honest and innocent. I also know you're irritable when you're tired and you're afraid of heights. I know you'd skip an entire day's meals and isolate yourself to read a good book. So maybe you're insane as well. But you know what?" He looked at her. He waited until he caught her eye and then turned her to face him, rooting her to her spot.

His hands on her arms were making her skin tingle, despite the layers between their skin. She told herself to get out of his grip but the message wasn't coming across to the rest of her. She stayed right where she was.

"I think you're incredible," he told her. "And yes Lily, I know _you_. And I think—I _know_ that scares the hell out of you."

And maybe it did. Maybe it terrified her.

But the anger hadn't worn off yet, and despite the fact that she felt complimented by what he had said, even though he had pointed out some of her less likeable features as well, Lily wasn't ready to collect her thoughts and talk to him yet.

She stepped away from him, his hands returning to his sides. She shook her head. "I don't want to do this," she said.

James could feel his heart plummet. He nodded and the word, "Fine," sounded hollow to his ears as he said it.

They walked back to the common room silently. Although they were walking beside each other the entire way, it felt like they were each walking alone. James' expression stayed indifferent and Lily walked staring at the stone floors, letting her long hair hang around her face; something he knew she did when avoiding people and things.

_You like him, don't you?_

_No, that's not possible._

_Merlin. I actually…I mean… Merlin, Lily. He's sweet. He cares. He's not the same guy he was before. _

**Why doesn't she get it? She's so stuck on not even **_**looking**_** at me that she won't **_**listen.**_

James sighed aloud and ran a hand through his hair, tugging it every which way as he passed it through.

Lily pulled her hair out of her face and snuck a quick look over at him.

There was a short tug on her heart as she saw the hurt look on his face.

_What have I done?_

Lily finger-combed her hair and blew out a long breath. She hesitantly reached over and picked up James' hand in her own. He looked over at her in surprise.

If he was to be honest, he had half a mind to drop her hand like it burned. Something inside told him that she wasn't just doing it to save face though, she meant it. And letting go of her would be like taking leaps and bounds backwards. Holding on made them both feel better, and where was the bad in that?

Lily squeezed his hand slightly and he couldn't help the small smile that spread on his face. Her lips pressed together shyly, a hint of a smile hidden in the expression.

They slowly approached The Fat Lady and Lily stopped in front of the portrait.

_In front of The Fat Lady? We don't need a peanut gallery._

Lily pulled James around the corner and stood, taking his other hand in hers as well, facing him. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm her pounding heart.

"Maybe it does," she agreed. "Maybe it does scare the hell out of me. But…there's a lot to be afraid of, isn't there? What if I do like you?"

"So what if you do?" he asked. "What's wrong with that?"

She stared into his hazel eyes. See a mix of emotions she couldn't decipher. "How do I know I can trust you?" she asked.

"You…you just do," he told her. "Lily, if I can promise you one thing, it's that I won't lie to you. And I'll never _intend_ to hurt you. You have to know that."

"I…I do," she said and as soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized they were true. "James, it frightens me that you can care that much about me, alright? But," a slow, small smile came to grace her lips, "unlike my fear of heights, I think I just might get over it."

James couldn't help it, he pulled her closer and hugged her tightly on impulse.

"I'm not saying anything," she cut in quickly, pulling back just slightly. "I just…you're wonderful, too, you know." Her thumbs stroked back and forth on the back of his hands. "I'm sorry for what I said," she apologized.

"That's alright," he nodded. He released one of her hands to brush the hair out of her face. "I care about you, Lily."

_Oh Merlin._

**Do you expect her to say it back, Prongs? Why would you even…?**

"We should…we should go in," Lily said. "Um…"

"Right," James agreed.

Blushing, of course, Lily tugged him back to the portrait hole and gave the password. They went inside and Lily was surprised to glance out the window and see the black curtain of night had been draped over Hogwarts. There was only a little bit of light from the small, cold moon in that foggy sky.

Sirius was nowhere to be seen and the first years seemed to have gone to their dormitories to the common room was completely deserted.

Lily and James sat down in front of the fireplace, the fire dwindling out to nothing. James and Lily both pulled out their wands at the same time.

James conjured the logs and Lily set the fire blazing again, quickly warming both them and the area.

Lily looked at the clock.

_Oh my goodness._

"It's eleven forty," she stated. "Nearly midnight."

James glanced at his watch. "That would be correct," he nodded.

"Well," she said, "if I counted correctly, then you gave me four reasons, right? Have you got anything else?"

**Oh.**

James scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "If you want to know the truth…"

"And I do," Lily told him.

**Tell her what she wants to hear then, Prongs. The truth.**

"Reason Number Five:" James said, "because I think you might actually want to."

_So what if I do?_

**Merlin, I hope I'm right.**

"Hey Prongs! Evans! The year's almost over! What the hell are you doing?"

* * *

><p><span>AN: Thank you all so much for your patience with me! You're too kind.

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think there will be one more to come. I actually really like writing this and I hope you like reading it.

If you reviewed the author's note from last chapter then I don't know if you can review this. If you'd take the time to review anonymously again anyway, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

Anyways,

Scarlett


	5. Firewhiskey and Midnight

Sirius bounded up the boys' staircase in a hurry. He rushed back down the stairs a couple of minutes later, carrying four tall glasses and one very large bottle of firewhiskey.

Lily's eyes widened but she didn't say anything to protest as Sirius sat down, stretching his legs out on the length of the couch and popping open the bottle.

Sirius poured a glass and took a swig before pouring another glass and reaching down to hand it to James. James instinctively stretched an arm out behind him to receive the glass.

Once the glass was in his hand and he had turned back around to face the fire, he remembered the girl beside him.

**Erm…**

Lily saw how uncomfortable he was and smiled.

_Oh, go ahead then._

"You're going to drink it, then, aren't you?" Lily said.

James stared at the glass. "Um…no, it's—"

_Honestly?_

Lily reached over and took the glass from his hand. "Do you mind, then?" she asked.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You mean…you…er, sure."

She nodded her thanks and hesitantly raised the glass to her lips.

Sirius' eyes shot open wide and he quickly swallowed his mouthful of liquor before he spat it out on himself. He made a choking sound and shared a look with his best mate as Lily Evans took a delicate sip of the burning alcohol.

'_What is she doing?_' Sirius mouthed.

'_I don't know_' James returned.

Lily felt the firewhiskey burn its way down her throat, warming her from the inside out. She took a deep breath and handed James his glass back.

"Evans," Sirius said, "if you're going to drink," he raised his glass, "drink." He threw the glass back and drank a good amount.

James looked at the glass where her lips had just been, mesmerized.

"Why do you drink that stuff?" Lily asked. "It really doesn't taste good."

"You get used to it," Sirius replied.

Lily grabbed a glass from beside Sirius and eyed it thoughtfully.

"Hey," James lowered her hand and the glass, "don't let me corrupt you, okay?" He was joking, but there was a slight hint in his tone that showed worriedness.

She rolled her eyes and placed the glass beside her. "Black," she ordered, "you make sure that glass is a quarter full before midnight."

"Yes ma'am," Sirius agreed.

James drank from his glass with a smile and began to change the subject. "So, Padfoot, that Ravenclaw—"

"Is in a real relationship with her boyfriend," Sirius cut in, the disappointment evident in his voice. He finished his glass in a final swig. "I couldn't mess with that. I did talk to her for a while since I was there though. She's nice."

Lily turned to look at Sirius in pleasant surprise.

**See? He's not as bad as he seems.**

"Black, my respect for you may have just risen a good bit," Lily said, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry about it," Sirius shrugged, "it'll drop again within the next few days."

_That's the Sirius Black we all know and…um…tolerate. _

Lily lay down on the carpet and stretched out, then turned over to face James. "Are you tired yet?" she asked.

He laughed. "Lily, it's only quarter to twelve."

"Well I'm tired."

"And you call yourself a teenager, Evans?" Sirius asked.

She glared at him. "I've been up since six this morning."

"Six?" Sirius repeated in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

James raised an eyebrow. "Just what did you have to do at six in the morning?"

Lily lay on her back and turned her head to the side, staring at an ink stain on James' left pant leg. "I don't know. I didn't really have any plans except to go to bed at a decent hour. I didn't expect that you two would show up."

_Does he know he has an ink stain?_

"Did we ruin your plans?" James asked.

"Ruin? No. Change? Yes," Lily replied.

"I'm bored," Sirius announced, pouring himself another glass, half full. He offered the bottle to James but James declined with a shake of his head. He was already buzzed, and with Lily near him that was all he really needed.

Sirius pulled out his wand and pointed it at the fire, making the flames dance in tall waves. Lily jolted upright at the movement and spun around to face Sirius. "Are you crazy?" she asked. "You could set the place on fire!"

"Don't be so dramatic," Sirius drawled, but to calm her down he stopped playing with the fire and instead began to draw with the smoke, twirling his wand across his fingers.

Lily shook her head at him in amusement.

_Black, you're like a four year old during 'quiet time'._

She pulled her wand out and pointed it at the fire as well, pulling the smoke out in curlicues that twirled up and then floated around James' head. She laughed as the grey smoke formed a ring that circled above his dark, messy hair.

James gave her a falsely annoyed look and teasing smirk. He got out his wand and pointed it at the smoke, flicking his wrist and attempting to swirl the smoke.

**Damn. Why won't it curl?**

Sirius suddenly dropped his wand and jumped up from the couch. James stopped what he was doing. "What's up?" he asked.

Sirius was already running up the stairs though. "I've got to change!" he yelled.

Lily turned to see Sirius' robes flying behind him as he shrugged out of them. And then just as he was turning the corner he tore of his shirt as well and Lily's eyes widened as she quickly turned away.

She looked down at her lap.

_Crap, Black. You couldn't wait to get to your __dormitory__ to undress? I never needed to see you that way….I wonder what James looks like…no. Lily, don't even go there._

She felt as if her cheeks had been set on fire.

James shook his head. "I completely forgot." He sighed. "He's got it stuck in his head that if he doesn't dress up for the New Year then he'll have a year's worth of bad luck."

Lily forced laughter. "Crazy."

James turned back to the fire and Lily sighed in relief and touched a hand to her heated cheeks.

James resumed what he had been doing, drawing the smoke out in different directions and trying to get it to curl.

Lily's eyes began to water as he pulled the smoke a little too close. She waved a hand in front of her face and coughed.

**Shit. **

"Sorry," James apologized sheepishly.

Lily cleared the air close to her and James and then hit his arm playfully. "What are you trying to do?" she asked.

James shot her a playful look back. "It won't make the…" He gestured with his hands in a spiralling motion.

**Way to sound literate. **

_Oh, James._

James picked up his wand and moved his hand side to side, the smoke drawing out a sharp, zigzagged pattern. Lily laughed good-naturedly. "Hey, I'm trying," James complained.

"Here," Lily leaned over and put her hand on top of his, resting her head on his shoulder.

**Lily Evans is practically cuddling with me.**

Lily guided his hand in gentle circles towards her and smiled as the smoke curled and twisted as she intended it to. She caught James' expression from the corner of her eye and saw the large smile spread on his face as well.

He looked at her in bliss, smiling affectionately.

**I could just lean down an inch or two and kiss her. **

_Calm down. Merlin, he can probably __hear__ my heart pounding._

James lowered his arm for a moment, careful not to move his shoulder so she wouldn't shift away. He turned and bent his head to kiss the top of her head.

Lily kept still until he switched his wand to his right hand and began moving the smoke above the fire once again.

**L…i…l…y**

In his slightly slanted and sharp handwriting was her name and she laughed softly as she read it. Her arm looped through his as she leaned into him and sighed. James let the smoke return to its natural shape around the fire, deciding he was enjoying himself enough as it was now.

A second later there was a loud boom as Sirius jumped the last few steps of the staircase.

Lily had to admit, he did look quite smart. He was clad in gray slacks, a black dress shirt and a red tie. It suited him.

"Is that my tie?" James asked.

Sirius strode over, looking quite narcissistic, before jumping the arm of the couch and knocking the back of James' head with his knee. "Yes, mate, yes it is," Sirius nodded as he poured James' empty glass half full.

"Oi! You've got your own ties!" James exclaimed.

"None of them are red," Sirius shrugged, pouring his own glass a full a few inches and then tipping the bottle over Lily's empty glass which was a two foot distance from the bottle to the glass on the floor. Lily was impressed at his ability not to spill a drop. "I needed a _red_ tie," he announced and passed James' glass back.

"Why red?" Lily asked curiously.

"It's a happy colour, and will bring me a bright future in the New Year," Sirius recited. "That, according to the clock, will occur in forty-seven seconds. Forty-six seconds. Forty-five seconds. Forty-four seconds. Forty-three seconds—"

"Point taken," Lily cut in loudly. "So…here comes the New Year…"

_Come on, Lily. _

**New Year. Come on, Lily…it's up to you. All yours if you'd just…please…**

_James Potter. Merlin, he's changed. He's still James Potter but…I don't recognize him. In the most perfect way possible…_

**Lily Evans you'll be the death of me. Come on…**

Sirius bounced in his seat on the couch and stirred his drink around in his glass, sloshing it in circles. "Twenty. Nineteen. Eighteen," Sirius counted down at an even pace. "Seventeen. Sixteen. Fifteen. It's almost here. What the hell are we going to do? I'm not ready for the year to end! Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six."

They both laughed at Sirius' panic and as if synchronized they all raised their glasses. "Five," they chanted. "Four. Three. Two." They tilted their glasses back.

"One," they said into their drinks.

Lily tasted the bitter liquid once again, but only for a moment before swallowing and putting her glass down.

"Happy New Year!" Sirius roared.

**I guess not.**

_Merlin, that stuff tastes…not good. _

James drank the firewhiskey with disappointment. It had never tasted so bitter to him.

He began to wish them a happy New Year, trying to hide his misery.

_Hey, it's not yet twelve-o-one._

He had barely gotten out the 'happy' before Lily and pulled herself up and turned her body to his, pressing her lips against his.

She vaguely heard Sirius say something along the lines of, "Whoa, Evans. You just jump those bones, don't you?"

James dropped his glass in surprise without a thought towards the liquor that spilled on the carpet.

Lily was off of him in what to him seemed like less than a decent amount of time for a moment.

His arms, which had wound their way around her waist, locked tightly as she tried to pull away. "Do you like me?" he asked.

She nodded, letting out a long breath as a fierce blush spread across her cheeks. "I like you," she confirmed. "A little too much, maybe."

"Good." James grinned and then pulled her back in, kissing her so…wonderfully she felt warm and tingly all over.

**Lily Evans.**

…

His chest was heaving as he pulled away after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. In a good way.

Sirius was lying on his back, his feet hanging off the couch, his eyes closed. "Could you two take it to your own common room?" he asked.

"Yes," Lily replied. "Yes. Happy New Year, Black." Lily hopped up and out of James' arms. He sat still in a daze. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up, pinching his palm and making him jump. "Come on, James," she rushed, tugging him out of the common room.

He still seemed a little out of it as she pulled him along; he came stumbling out of the portrait hole. She pushed him against the wall, not caring if the Fat Lady saw, and licked her lips before kissing him hard, sliding her finger tips under his sweater to touch his warm skin.

_That_ woke him up.

Lily grinned devilishly as she moved away from him slowly and his eyes popped open in shock. Then she took off in a quick, swaying walk down the corridor.

"Lily!" he called.

"Come on, James," she sang back.

He ran a hand through his hair.

**The. Death. Of. Me.**

* * *

><p>AN: Short chapter, I know. There may be one more epilogue-ish thing after this as well. Most likely. i hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Midnight finally, after a long wait, strikes.

Please review and thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

Anyways,

Scarlett


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